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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

“It would be equally reasonable to say that sheep are born
carnivorous, and everywhere nibble grass.” Emile
Faguet Quotes

Source: said in response to Rousseau, i.e., man being
born free, but everywhere in chains

“She walks--the lady of my delight-- A sheperdess of sheep. Her
flocks are thoughts. She keeps them white; She guards them from the steep. She
feeds them on the fragrant height, And folds them in for sleep.” Alice
Meynell Quotes

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Monday, February 27, 2012

Thousands of lambs have been killed by a new virus that is threatening the
survival of many British farms.

The Schmallenberg virus causes lambs to be born dead or with serious
deformities such as fused limbs and twisted necks, which mean they cannot
survive.

Scientists are urgently trying to find out how the disease, which also
affects cattle, spreads and how to fight it, as the number of farms affected
increases by the day.

So far, 74 farms across southern and eastern England have been hit by the
virus, which arrived in this country in January.

A thousand farms in Europe have reported cases since the first signs of the
virus were seen in the German town of Schmallenberg last summer.

The National Farmers Union has called it a potential “catastrophe” and warned
farmers to be vigilant. “This is a ticking time bomb,” said Alastair Mackintosh,
of the NFU. “We don’t yet know the extent of the disease. We only find out the
damage when sheep and cows give birth, and by then it’s too late.”

It is unclear exactly how the disease arrived in Britain, but the leading
theory is that midges carried the virus across the Channel or North Sea in the
autumn. However, scientists cannot yet rule out transmission of the disease from
animal to animal.

Infected ewes do not show any symptoms of the virus until they give birth,
with horrific results. Farmers have described delivering the deformed and
stillborn animals as heartbreaking.

The lambing season has only just begun, which means that the full impact of
the disease will not be felt until the weather warms up and millions more
animals are born.

On the Continent, some farms have lost half of their lambs. So far the worst
hit in Britain have lost 20 per cent, according to the Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Approximately 16 million lambs are born in Britain every year and sell at
market for about £100 each. The effect of the disease on farms that are already
struggling in the downturn could be severe.

“For any business to lose 20 per cent of your stock would be a huge blow,”
said Mr Mackintosh. “For a farmer to lose 20 per cent of your flock is
catastrophic. If it was 50 per cent you would be put out of action.

“I was talking to one who has 10,000 sheep. If he loses even five per cent of
the animals born this year, that’s a hell of a lot of lambs. I know another who
says 10 per cent of his ewes have become barren. He has 6,000 ewes, so that is
600 animals producing nothing.”

The Food Standards Agency has sought to allay any fears about eating lamb,
although little is known about the virus so far.

The Agency said: “Any risk to consumers through the food chain is likely to
be low. No illness has been reported to date in humans exposed to animals
infected with Schmallenberg virus.”

The worst affected counties are Norfolk, Suffolk, East Sussex and Kent, but
the virus has spread all along the south coast to Cornwall.

Farmers fear the disease may spread to larger flocks in the north of England,
Wales and Scotland. In Europe, Germany, Holland and France have suffered worst,
while recent cases have been reported in Italy and Luxembourg.

John, a farmer from East Sussex who wanted to remain anonymous, said he had
lost 40 out of 400 lambs so far, at a cost to his business of more than £4,000.

“I’ve had to put more lambs down in the past month than I have done in the
past 20 years. Every one is a serious blow to our finances. But it’s an
emotional thing too,” he said.

There are also fears that the virus may be seen later this year among cows,
which have a longer gestation period.

Five of the British farms have seen cattle affected, with calves aborted at
six months of pregnancy.

Cows are thought to be more robust than sheep and therefore more resistant,
but Schmallenberg virus could still reduce milk yields and put pressure on a
dairy industry that is already suffering, says Mr Mackintosh. “From what I hear,
we are likely to see weak calves that take a lot of expense and nursing to get
going again. Having to do that will hit a business hard.”

The last confirmed midge-borne virus to hit the British farming industry was
bluetongue in 2007, but a series of trade restrictions and a vaccine averted
disaster.

This time there is no vaccine, and Defra says a ban on imports would not
work, because the disease “is already here”. A spokesman said: “Defra is taking
this seriously. We track emerging diseases. There is work going on across Europe
and the amount we know is improving rapidly. We are keeping everything under
review.”

Its website says “farmers and vets should remain vigilant and report any
suspicious cases to AHVLA [the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency]
for testing as part of our enhanced surveillance”. However, farmers are not yet
legally required to notify authorities of an outbreak, leading some in the
industry to fear it may already be much more widespread than figures suggest.

Nigel Miller, the president of the NFU in Scotland said: “The escalation and
range of cases is deeply concerning and some experts are now suggesting that the
volume of cases being seen is an indication that this is, in fact, the second
year of infection.

“If that is the case then it raises the worrying prospect that the virus may
have an effective overwintering mechanism.”

The AHVLA identifies Schmallenberg as one of a group of viruses “typically
primarily spread by biting insect vectors, such as midges and mosquitoes,
although the routes of Schmallenberg virus transmission have not yet been
confirmed. The potential for direct transmission (ie direct from one animal to
another) is therefore, as yet, unknown.”

It said: “There is unlikely to be a risk to human health from Schmallenberg
virus; but this is not yet certain.”

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Saturday, February 25, 2012

It's that time of the year to get new barn boots. So Janet Thorpe and I went shopping at Nordstorm's Store. I am sure you are in shock that I would go to Nordies, but in a previous life, before the dogs, I used to be a yuppie. Yep, with fancy suits, heels and makeup. Now, my make up is bit of alfalfa mixed in with some sheep poop. The suits were donated a few years and now my clothes of choice is the brand of Carhatts. I quit the corporate world and now work for the FAA. I am a lot happier and don't have to be all fancy at work. I do have to look nice but heels and makeup are not required.

So today, Janet and I went to the feed store and then to lunch and had Dim-sum. Fully stuffed, we decided to go shopping at Nordies. (for those of you in the dark, Nordies is the high end fancy clothes store) We want to check out some clothes as I haven't been shopping for a long time and shopping with Janet is fun. She has a different fashion taste than me but get me to try new styles. I got her to buy Bog Boots so I guess that makes us even.

My Bog boots have a hole so I needed to get some new ones. Not that Nordies has Bog boots but that was my excuse. BTW, we did find some Bog Boots at Nordies but they were not my size. So, we are checking out the rows for boots and I tell Janet to help me find some boots for the barn which was entertaining!

Janet and I rounded up a bunch of boots and then had to make a hard decision on which one would work for me.

These were the first boots we looked at...hum, too white and the sheep poop would be on them in a flash so I took a pass.

Red shoe laces are not my my color.

I don't look good in green It make me look like I had three bottle of Jack Daniels, then spent two hours over the porcelain bowl donating the three bottles back, so these were vetoed as NO!

This one was too high on my leg. Plus, the suede would be a bitch to clean.

I got distracted by these leopard print shoes. They are some fancy brand that cost $800 new. That is four ewes or six lamb or four tons of alfalfa hay in my book.

Kristi would love this brand. Janet recognized them and told me they were Manolo Blahnik and I tried to hide my blank dumb look on my face and look intelligent. It didn't work by the way.

The heel is about 17 inches too high for me so I put them back. Heck, I couldn't even pronounce the brand name, let alone know this fancy designer was. Back in the days, when I wore heels, I am sure this designer was in diapers. Or maybe just a twinkle in someones eye.

Well, this looked hopeful,l aside from the two million laces that I would have to do. If I got these boots, then by the time I got done lacing them, it would be time to quit working dogs. So maybe, I could get them, lace them and then my dogs would train themselves while I was on lace #76290....hey, this sounds pretty good. Janet removed from my hands and put them back. She didn't actually do this until I said I would do it when I was giving a lesson to her, then she snatched them out of my hands and put them back.

I love purple but would hurt my back trying to lace these boots up. Or maybe the same people who write instructions to build your furniture from IKEA did the instructions for putting the laces on these boots....

Damm, another white pair of boots. These were so white, that my eyes hurt and I went blind for a brief moment in time. PETA would be all over me, if I wore these and my sheep were blinded by them. Janet and I did not want PETA at the farm so sadly, we put them back.

We finally found leopard print barn boots. They fit me perfectly and I will wear them at the trials. These had only three laces so a mere simpleton like me could do them in fifteen minutes. They got the Janet "Seal of Approval" and we made it out of Nordies without too much damage to the bank account.

Oh, I got more stuff but I am not telling as those are boring! OK, I will since someone is going to ask me....penny loafer shoes for work (see, boring!!) and cool socks. Janet got some cute girl baby clothes with sheep on them for Josie. Then we called it a day and went home with our spoils!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

• Natural Wide Outrun• Knows her flanks, well started on Driving, • Works Cattle and Sheep. She is fearless, More of a heading than an heeling dog

PRICE $2500.00

OWNER: CHRIS HANSON

250-546-3664

cthanson@telus.netPeople have asked for a video of her driving so here it is. She is located in Canada. I have gotten dogs from Chris before and they are exactly like he states. My Delmar Scott and Gael was from him. He puts a great foundation on the dogs and I would buy from him again.

Unknown...That was really fun and I really love you but I am starving. What's for breakfast?

howlingdog...If you won't let me eat sheep, how about one of those boots.

nor1168...I told you they would laugh

Kidunotgoats...See mom, I could play Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.

KidunotgoatsI told you I could touch my nose with my tongue.

buzz...Somewhere there's a clown looking for his boots.

Myra Soden...I'm out here in this weather, wearing this outfit, and you expect me to believe you thought that wooly stuff was the fuzz off a tennis ball?

dave h....Mam, the reason i stopped you is that you were breast feeding in public, and now you tell me you don't have your tags when I ask for for you license, registration, insurance card and your offspring's vaccination record...

Paul LewisOK, where are my insulated coveralls??

Walt FeaselSo where did you get them boots? Neewwyyooorrkkk Citi?

Deborahthose are the coolest boots I've ever seen. Where can I get a pair of those?

KellyGYum! Sheep wool tastes even better than tennis ball fuzz!

Ron Greenspecies to species, Seriously you named me Goose,have you ever seen a Goose lick its

Donna BrinkworthAnd the ewe on the far right says to the others "No worries girls, he's eyeing up the boots - I knew that was a smart thing to ask Santa to bring her!"

Sara Mock"That last sheep was kinda funky tastin !

buzzLook, if you lay off the rot-gut booze, those boots won't match your eyes.

Monday, February 20, 2012

I loved watching the Disney shows when I was growing up. I loved them all but anyoe that was dog or horse related, I adored. Here is a clip from Disney on "all about dogs"....later in the clip around 26 minute section.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

This is a great website. The guy has a Staffordshire Terrier and American Bulldog mix named Tiger. He puts food on top of her head and takes a pix for his blog. Good, clear entertainment. No animals were hurt in the display.

Friday, February 17, 2012

The long weekend continued early Sunday morning when the first student arrived. We worked dogs all morning with the students and it was a blast. I could see that some of them were ready to go to the next level. It rained off and on but overall it was a cool and cloudy day. I had my heated vest on and when one battery ran out, I switched it out for a freshly charged one. It made the day a lot nicer and having your core body temperature stay warm makes al the difference. My friend did the sorting of the lesson sheep with his dogs while Rainey pouted as she normally does that. After the lessons, we wormed the sheep and I marked a few that needed to sorted but we ran out of time as lunch was ready.

My mom and aunt came over and made me lunch. We had beef yakisoba, gyoza, shrimp tempura, green beans and beef, veggie shrimp spring rolls and lots more delightful side dishes. I barely managed to push myself away from the table and then decided to take a nap. The flurry of activities got to me and when I crash, I need to take a nap. Meanwhile a friend went and did the sorting for me and then after a 20 minute nap I woke up refreshed and we went to Josh’s place to help him worm his sheep.

I used Maid the gather the sheep and she was quite eager and brought them to me smartly. My friend wanted to use his dog as he needed some seasoning so he got to put them in the worming chute. Maid was miffed but she got over it and watched us from the van. Another friend was with us so we had a good tag team for worming. One person stuffed the chute, one gave the worming subQ shots and Josh held the ewe. I reloaded the wormer and marked the sheep. It was very good work for the friend's dog, doing something he had never done before. He did it quite well. I take it for granted when I do this type of work with my dogs all the time but a lot of folks do not have access to so many sheep or chore situations.

We got done and the dogs had it figured out by the end and it all went smoothly. Then weI did outruns with our dogs. I changed the away whistle on Maid and she seems to have it down somewhat. She did blow through her downs a couple of times so I got on her then she was quite obedient. A couple of times a single ewe would try to hide in the pack of llamas but Maid would solo the ewe out and march her to the flock. I was quite pleased on how she figured it all out. She will not back down and has a clean face grip. Tremendous work ethic and a huge desire to please. By the end we were really harmonious and her eyes would gaze upon mine and I would see a blink of approval. As the evening began to fall, we walked up to the van and we felt like we were really coming together as a team.

It was a fun filled weekend and a good way enjoy my last few hours of freedom before I would get up at 5:00 a.m. to go to the hospital for my heart procedure. I enjoyed my self and As the night came to a close, I was thankful for family, friends and good dogs. Life doesn’t have to have expensive items and sometimes the simple items bring you the greatest pleasure. Seeing the partnership that I got with Maid was one of the greatest pleasure that I had that weekend. Our journey is beginning and for her only being here three months, it has been a wonderful journey. Additionally, it is good to have such good friends who helped me out by taking some of my dogs for a week, by helping me do chores…..just being there. The dogs got great pleasure by doing chores that made sense and all of the training we had put on them, made them realize there was a means to those long hours of commands.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

It was a long day and we were headed home from the sheepdog trial, when at the turn before my place, we saw a pair of glowing eyes in the darkness and realized it was a loose ewe. Then about ten more ewes crossed the road and we saw that Josh’s sheep had gotten out. We parked the van, got the one tiny flashlight to evaluate the situation and saw most of the 100 sheep had escaped and had bedded on the hill above the pasture. Unfortunately it was the neighbor's lawn and even though he was a cool guy, the sheep could wander down the road and get hit or go on the highway. We looked at the dogs in the back and saw Tess was passed out on the seat. The hill would be too steep for her and she is partially blind not to mention almost 14 years old. Ron grabbed Kiki and it would be a good lesson for her in practical work.

Ron started up the trail and the sheep bolted so we jumped back in the van and backed up to the other side of the driveway. Ron pulled the van forward and I mentioned to him he was right along a deep ditch as the van began to tilt and he pulled it forward and we didn’t become a victim of the deep abyss. You could see up the driveway the glowing eyes of the sheep and Ron sent Kiki. The sheep came racing down the hill and Ron called off Kiki so the sheep began to slow down. He worked then down to the north end of the pasture where they went down another hill as I opened the gate. Half of the flock came back and went into the pasture. Ron called me over and he found a ewe that was cast. Cast is when a ewe is rolled on her back in a dip and cannot get up. We rolled her to her side and she galloped into the night to join the few that had not been put away.

We walked over to the remaining sheep and they were by the old area that formerly had a gate. I unwound the wire and made a small opening, the sheep rushed in and that was the end of the night escapade of the 100 sheep.

Tess woke up as we got in the van and asked us, “What took you so long?”

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

The weekend for the sheepdog trial was like any other sheepdog trial, except that I was judging. I still worked my dogs during the week, read the rules and went to bed early. Ron came over and drove us to the trial. He had entered Kiki in Open and Chavo in Nursery. There were close to 70 runs and daylight was limited. The Novice and ranch runs were first and the course had been shifted well away from the exhaust to a part of the field that sheep were not familiar with. The sheep were light hair sheep that tested the dogs; push hard and you pay the price; push soft and they stood so they needed to be handled right. I want to point out my two Open dogs lean too hard on these sheep.

I gave a quick speech to the Novice and Ranch and gave them some pointers. I remember when I was a Novice and how hard it was for me. The classes were large and eager eyes looked back at me. I told them the pen was teamwork and they need to use their dog as well how to handle this light sheep.. They heeded my advice and there were some outstanding runs in Novice and ranch. There was a tie for first place in Novice with only two points off and second place had only four point loss. The Foster family snagged the two top spots in Novice, followed closed by Jacoby who is a youngest in the sport. Paul and his new dog Lexy was in fourth. Cindy won Ranch with Britt and that was a nice run to watch. Judy and Bert were hot on her heels in second. The setout crew was one of the best that I had ever seen, settling down the sheep so the dogs were able to get a hold of the sheep at the top. Kudos to them!

ProNovice was next and the first drive panel was closer to the exhaust and the dogs who couldn’t hold the pressure had issues. The sheep took advantage of anything, anyone and any misstep. To the away side on the outrun was a deep pond so most dog went left. They had to go deep or the sheep would bolt. The drive was tough and the first leg proved to be the undoing of a few. The crossdrive were nice but a few missed the second cones that were used in lieu of panels. The lines was to the pen and most of the people got the pen. Bob with his striking Ryder laid down a picture perfect run to get a score of 87. Not much was taken off aside from a few tiny bobbles. Nora had fire in her eye and with her Joe, dog had a smooth quiet run to secure second place. Kathleen had a nice run for third with a bit of a scenic route on the drive. Janet with Sava placed fourth. Sava decided to be a powerhouse much to Janet’s demise and at the post turn, Sava took the flank she wanted which was not what Jane wanted and had the turn at the judge’s van but she quickly fixed that to pull up the run for fourth place. Quite a few of PN runs had to retire to the sheep being strong to the draw.

Nursery was the same as PN. Ron ran a very nice run with Chavo who held the pressure quite well. Corrine and Bea placed second and this team is looking well.

Open was a blind about halfway up, then a dog leg fetch which you lost sight of the sheep and dog for about 15 feet to make the panel then a turn at the post. Since we didn’t have a shedding ring, I made the pen, post and a cone the far end of the ring. The cone was place about ten feet to the right of the post and it was mentioned if you were to the right of the cone, you were wide at the turn. It was suggested that a neat, tidy turn and tuck to the left of the cone would be dead on for the first leg of the drive. That way the sheep were straight on for the drive and your dog was in proper position to hold the draw. As the handlers did the turn at the post, you could see them, think, then set their dog proper to tuck the sheep in for the drive, thus saving two points. The first leg was a long drive then to the cross drive panels, then to the pen. The pen was a open pen and the handler had to stay at the post and then a single. There were three sheep.

Wow, some of the dog refused to listen to the handler and had straight lines and missed most of the fetch. We did this same course a few months ago and Roo closed his ears and did a straight fetch. But some of the dogs ran the dog leg fetch pretty much dead on, and looked quite nice. Monique was first with Lucy and had a smooth dog leg fetch and a quiet run but didn’t get the single. It was a good way to start the Open runs. Sue and Jackie nailed the dog leg fetch and Jackie was her usual pushy self and I thought on the first leg of the drive that Sue was going use up her quota of downs but Jackie listened to her and had her under control. She got the pen and the first single of the day and went into the ring with four minutes left. Sandy and Joe had a sweet run and that dog is one nice dog. Their fetch was also very elegant. Karen and Grit also had one of the nicest dog leg fetches of the day as well as Maggi and Rob. Maggi and Kep had pretty much a flawless drive, losing only three points. Bob and Mojo stepped up to the post towards the end (and she can go home with me, anytime!) and it was a stunning run. She keyed onto the sheep, cast out nice, went deep and lost only four points on the fetch. She had a sweet turn at the post and was one of the best first leg drive and a nice turn for the crossdrive. She was a wee bit offline for the pen and then sauntered into the shedding ring, all stood looking calm, then boom, a gorgeous single. She won the class with 87, followed by Monique and Lucy and Sue and Jackie with 81, broken by outwork, placing Monique in second and Sue in third. Sandy and Joe were in fourth with 80 then Maggi and Lil for fifth place. Bob placed sixth with Trooper and Ron with Kiki, in their first Open run snagged seventh. He was one of the five who got a single.

I got a new Gerbing heated vest and wore it all day. It kept my core warm and it made a huge difference. By the time I was done judging the 68 or so runs, I was tired but warm. The wind and rain had kicked up but luckily I was in Ron’s van. Cindy was the course director and she kept me full of hot coffee, tea and food. It was an enjoyable day with some fine dogs running. Ron and I stopped at a seafood buffet on the way home and it was quite good. We stuffed ourselves and waddled back to the car. Then homeward bound and little did we know, our adventure was not over. Stay tuned for tomorrow for the runaway sheep that waited for us as we were going down the road to my farm.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Well, the blazing migraine decided to pack her bags and go bother someone else. It was horrid for the 36 hrs that I had the migraine but now I feel human again. No human enough to write my updates from this weekend as that will be tomorrow's post but human enough to update you on the last couple of days.

When I got home, I went to sleep on the couch. Maid jumped up next to me and was my snuggler for the rest of the day. Tess, Nan and Rainey slept next to the couch so everything I had to get up, I had to wade through a sea of black and white fur. I felt really bad and every time I would toss about, Maid would sit up and hover over me with her cross-eyes full of worry. Once she figured out that I would be ok, she would relax and snuggle next to me. Again, I want to thank Scott Glen for his fine training on Maid as a nurse-dog. She did her job well.

The dogs were very careful around me and not the usual boisterous gang that they normally are. They would follow me all over the house, Tess first, then the others in a row, like a mother duck and her duckling. We soon discovered that four dogs can not fit into the guest bathroom, instead three is the proper number and I must teach them to close the bathroom door when they enter!

As for the heart procedure, it was a failure. My heart stayed in normal rhythm then after two minutes, went back into atrial flutter. That's a real bummer. My heart doc will consult with another heart doc on the next course of treatment. It looks like maybe an ablation. At least we gave this procedure a try.

Janet Thorpe came by on Monday night to cheer me up and brought me tons of Chinese food, wonton soup as well as cupcakes and Klondike Ice Cream bars. She knows my weakness. When I had my two open heart surgeries, someone stuffed my freezer full of Klondike bars and I thought that I had died and gone to heaven. I was sure it was Janet but she denies it. So if it wasn't her, then I bow down to whomever did that deed! Not only did I manage to eat the Chinese food (honey walnut prawns, beef fat noodles and green bean beef) I also ate two cupcakes and one Klondike bar. Then I felt really good as I really hadn't eaten anything for a day. Janet rocks in my book!

I didn't get much sleep during the night as my migraine decided to kick in in a major way so I got up several times and fussed about. Finally about late midday today, it vacated the premises to find another new victim.

I decided that I should go outside and get some fresh air. Of course, I had to wear my new heated vest and it works great. The sheep were all fine and the Border Collies raced around like banshees, a far cry from the sedate dogs that were in the house earlier.

I fed everyone and wandered about. I saw one of my Katadhins was about ready to drop a lamb. She was in the back lawn pasture and I needed to move her to the lambing corral. I immediately got four volunteers. I grabbed Rainey who danced with glee as she entered the pasture. She dropped her head and brought the flock to me. I lined the flock up and she shed the last three which the chosen ewe was in with two yearlings. She marched them to the gate. I sorted the two yearlings and she held the ewe. This ewe is known as a runner with no respect for a dog. She tried to leap over Rainey and Rainey went up in the air, with her teeth flashing. The ewe turned at the last minute and tried to cut around her. Rainey met her step for step, a quick jig and then the ewe came back to me, head high, nostrils flaring and a general bad attitude. She didn't want to go in the gate so I stood back, held my side and told Rainey to put her in. She turned into the ewe, one tiny step, held a paw in the air, the ewe stamped, then Rainey turned her head ever so slightly to the side and the ewe calmly walked in. Rainey stood and waited to see if she would turn back and once the ewe had joined the sheep in the lambing corral, she relaxed and looked at me for further instructions.

Since I was warm and cosy in my heated vest, I decided to do some shedding work with her. She lined the flock up and came in clean to hold the back five. I let two more go and practiced an international shed and had her hold the last three. The last three wanted back and two broke to one side and one to another. I sshhhh her to see what she could do. She ran and tucked the two that were closer to the flock and they turned back and she bolted to cover the single. She turned her and then tucked them back in as a group and brought them to me. I told her look back and then sent to get the rest of the flock. She brought them quietly and held them to the fence and I grabbed one. I had her push the flock away and then turned the yearling loose. She held the yearling quite nicely to me and she is getting quite thoughtful in her work. She stood nose to nose to the yearling and then backed her down about 10 steps to me.

I called her off and she let her go. It was a nice feeling to see that she had grown up and became a useful dog. She gives me her all and tries to do what I ask of her, no matter how hard it is. One day, she will put on her Open dog shoes and hopefully prove she is as good as her mom, Tess. In the meantime, she is learning to do practical work that makes her a stronger dog.

The sun faded quickly and the coyotes began to sing in the distant. As we wandered up to the house, it was good to be home. Home is where the heart is, even though the heart maybe broken, it still is home. As I type this, I am surrounded by a blanket of black and white dogs, eyes looked onto my face and tails wagging slowly. I think they want their evening treat.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Well, the heart procedure did not work. They did the Cardio Version and the normal heart rate worked for about two minutes, then it slipped back into Atrial Flutter. So my heart Doc is going to talk to another heart Doc about another procedure called an Ablation. I had that done about three years ago and they might do it again. I went home after the procedure and slept most of the day. I got a severe migraine from the meds and feel well, like crap. So now, it's back to the way it was before. But better than being dead. I get tired quicker so I work around that.

Tomorrow the blog goes back to the regular scheduled programming and I will again hopefully entertain ya'll.

No dog trial this weekend so I will tune up my dogs for the March 10th trial. I have to get Maid qualified for the Finals. Nan has some serious points but a few more will be better.I will be the blogger for the Finals so I look forward to that. I really enjoyed doing the blogging the last time the Finals were in Klamath Falls. This time I will be able to blog during the Finals as I am set up for that now. It's gonna be a great time and I look for to the wild ride to get there.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

I will be offline maybe the next day or two. I am going in tomorrow for another heart procedure. I will (hopefully) be coming home late tomorrow and taking a couple of days to recover. Then I will tell you about our fub filled, very busy weekend. I judged close to 70 runs on Saturday. Sunday was lessons and sheep worming. We took videos and photos.

So check in late Monday for the status on the heart procedure and hope it is successful.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Time for another Caption Contest. Post your captions in the comments section. As usual, Tess will do the selection. I will write the captions down on paper, toss them on the ground and Tess will fetch one for me. Very scientific and unbiased. I will not put a beef flavored treats in my favorite caption paper bundle, really! This contest runs for two weeks.

Click on the photo for a larger view

This is Deborah and Goose (DeltaBluez Anson). Deb is learning to handle Goose and is very close to Novice level. Goose is a full brother to Rainey. He was my pick of the litter and he went to them. They are a great home for Goose and love him dearly. He is also the 2011 fastest flyball Border Collie. This photos is from one of our snow days when Deb came out for a lesson. As you can see, it was snowing.

Wayne Seward took this photo with my camera. I handed him my camera and he took some very nice shots that day. I like this photo as it shows Deborah and Goose working as a team. I really love his tongue hanging out.

Some contest rules.

1. No naughty captions

2. You can enter as many captions as you like, but you only get one entry

3. Cherrie , the artist will ship you the nightlight. She did the design and donated it for this contest.

4. Winner will be drawn by Tess on Feb 22, 2012

5. Winner will be announced on that day and has one week to respond. If not, then the backup winner will be announced.

6. Open to USA and Canada for the nightlight. If you are out of the USA and Canada you can enter your caption but your entry will not be part of the pick, due to postage rates.

Click on the photo for a larger view

The winner will get a ultra cool gift. This is a HANDMADE Nightlight with sheep on it., Cherrie made this exclusively for this contest. The is the sheep part. It also comes with the plug in

From Cherrie:

I set up a coupon code FORNICK. Etsy forces you to attach a discount to the coupon so these nightlight shades will list at $20.20 each with a 1% discount. After the discount the price will be $20 each (plus shipping) of which I will send $10 to Tea's Wolftown to be earmarked as a contribution to Nick's care. The other $10 covers my cost to make and list the nightlights. The nightlight shades will ship with a plug-in light fixture like the one on the white chicken. They fit in the mailing box better when not fully assembled.http://www.etsy.com/shop/SugarfootGlassI have also set up a second coupon code TESSBLOG. This coupon code is good for 10% off any item in my shop and will be available until March 31st. If someone buys more than one item my intent is for them to be able to use the code on every one. I don't have lots of experience with Etsy coupon codes. These are my first, so if anyone has a problem, they should give me a message through Etsy and I will fix it.
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Since Cherrie was kind enough to donate this cool sheep nightlight, I am going to do a plug for her. She makes these from scratch and you can order one. She has generously going to give $10 of each sale to help with Gloria Atwater's Nick Vet bill.

From Cherrie: (You will have to mention that you were referred from my blog for the discount)